Husband and I went to see a movie, which we don’t do often (I generally prefer movies with popcorn and couch cuddles), and I was amazed by how many times we were inundated by messages to “Turn off your phone” during the film. Even more surprising was that people didn’t listen to these prompts — there was a little light in the seat below me, its owner ignoring the movie.

Phones are neat. Thanks to smartphones, moments can be captured, edited and shared with all our friends in a matter of seconds. This is powerful. Our social channels are preserving memories. When we’re feeling nostalgic, we can quickly talk a walk down memory lane — as long as we have internet access, of course.

I work on a computer all day, I blog at night and I am a daily consumer of cable television. Add my iPhone addiction in the mix and I am a screen junkie. As a part of this mindfulness challenge, I made an effort to reduce my screen time by giving it a 9:00 p.m. curfew. Here are the challenges I faced and lessons I learned along the way.

This 30-day challenge has made it pretty clear that I have a problem. My iPhone (and any screen, for that matter) obstructs my mindfulness. Do you have a problem? If you answer "yes" to most or all of these questions, put your phone on "Do Not Disturb" mode and go look at something green outside while holding a tree pose. Pronto.